Renewable elastic band



Jan. 20, 1931;

A. D. LEHMAN RENEWABLE ELASTIC BAND Filed April 5. 1930 WITNESS.- INVENTOR Maw A1fre:1D.LE hman,

ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 20, 1931 UNITED STATS ALFRED D. LEHMAN,

oF'nEwYonK, n. Y,

RENEWABLE nLAs'rro ani Application filed April 5,

This invention relates to renewable elastic band and has for an object to provide, in combination with a garment, an elastic band forming any contracting element, as for in- 6 stance, contracting the garment at the waist and embodies new and improved means for removing the old and spent elastic and applying fresh live elastic.

A further object of the invention is to provide a garment, made up in such manner that the spent elastic may be removed from the hem of the garment without mutilating the garment or ripping any of the seams of the garment and to wholly conceal the elastic band audits attaching means,ait r such attachmentor renewal.

A further object ofthe invention is to provide a garment having a hem with an elastic contracting band dlsposed 1n the hem and at tached atits opposite ends to parts of t 116 garment forming a gathering of the material, said hem being provided with openings through which parts of the elastic band and its attaching means may be drawn'for severing and replacing.

A further object of the inventionis to provide a garment having a hem at its upper edge with openings formed therein. similar to lmtton holes, adjacent to the ends of the hem with tapes, or like materials, within the hem and sewed to the garment at the end of the hem, with an elastic band extending from the tape at one end to a similar tape at the other end and so located so that the end of the tape and the attached end of the elastic band may be drawn through the button hole for accessibility in severing and renewing the elastic hand.

My lllVOIltlUll is directed also to other objects and possesses other features ol. novelty 1930. 1 Serial" no. 441,823.

taching the elastic band; to the tape and itsrela'tion' to the button hole,

Figure 3 is a view in side elevation, withparts broken away, showing the relation oi the tape and the end of the elastic band and the button hole, V

Figure l is a Vl8W, in enlarged sections, of the tape and elastic band withdrawn through the button hole and separated preparatory to removing the spent elastic or at taching a new elastic, and V Figure 5 is a sectional view showingthe tapeand elastic withdrawn from the button hole and connected inoperative relation showing in dotted lines the positionot the parts when severed.

'Lilre characters'of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

The invention, which forms the subject matter of-this application, is adaptable toa great variety of garments, or the like, but it is especially applicable to womens undergarments madeof soft material and still more particularly to the type of undergarments employing a yoke of relatively unstretcha-ble material, with a section of elastic between the ends of the yoke providing for variations of the size of the waist line or other fitting parts. As shown in the drawing, such a garment is represented at 10 and a gathered hem is represented at 11. At the ends of the hem, seams 12 are provided. Spaced some what away from the ends and from the seams 12, are openings 13 corresponding in size and general make-up to button holes and by which name they will be hereinafter called, it being understood however, that the term is merely used for convenience and that it is not employed in conjunctionwith a button.

Sewed within the hem 11, by the seams 12, are tapes 1st of sufiicieut length to span and extend some distance across and beyond the buttonholes. As shown in the drawing,

these tapes are dOuble forthe reason to be hereinafter more specifically mentioned, but t is to be understood that this 15 merely for producing an artistic connection and includes 1 the use of a single tape or like strip of fabric.-

The term tape as herein employed, is not,

necessarily limited to tape per se but includes narrow fabric strips or hands.

an r lBy reason of the resiliency of the contained elastic band 15, as well as for the reason that the gathering of the material as in the hem 11,will permit the gathering to be further moved along the band, the end of either tape 1% and one end of the elastic band 15 may be drawn through one of the button holes as indicated at Figures 1, 4 and 5. The spent elastic may now be severed from the tape by simply cutting or ripping the stitches and when so released from both ends, may be removed from the hem and a new elastic band threaded in. The new band being inserted, the ends are likewise drawn or left outside of the button holes in position to be joined and stitched to the tapes 14:. This stitching being accon'iplished, the mere stretching oi the garment will cause the elastic, and its connected parts, to draw itself through the button hole and to be contained entirely with in the hem producing thereby a garment of the original utility and without defacing, marring or n'iutilating the garment in any particular in the replacing of the elastic band.

Of course, the renewable elastic band herein illustrated may be modified in arious ways without departing from the invention herein setforth and hereinafter claimed.

The intention hereby claimed as follows:

1. The combination with a garment embodying a hem having openings adjacentto he ends, a tape secured to the garment at each end of and within the hem spanning one of said openings, and an elastic band within the hem attached to the tapes, said band and tapes being wholly within the hem.

2. The combination with a garment em-,

bodying a hem having openings adjacent to the ends of the hem, tapes stitched to the ends of the hem and of such length as to extend across the openings and adapted to be drawn outwardly through the openings with the ends extending therefrom and an elastic band adapted to have its ends extended through the openings and in position to be secured to or removed from the tape, said band and tapes being normally .wholly within the hem.

The combination with a garment having a hem, an elastic band within the hem, and attaching means forming extensions of the band fixed wholly within the hem, said hem being provided with openings adjacent to its opposite ends forming exits for connected ends of the hand and extensions.

.In testimony whereof I have signed in name to this specification.

-ALFRED D. LEHMAN. 

